Numerous new social welfare measures have been suggested in HKSAR Government Chief Executive Mr John Lee’s Policy Address 2023. To better take care of Hong Kong elders, the government plans to extend the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong to residential care homes for the elderly operated by Mainland organisations, while also expanding the Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme. With ISS-HK’s experience of assisting Hong Kong elders residing in Guangdong and Fujian Province throughout the past years, Mr Stephen Yau, Chief Executive of the Agency agrees that such measures will let more Hong Kong elders consider settling in care homes in the Mainland, easing the demand for elderly care in Hong Kong.

In its support to local Ethnic Minority communities, the Government will set up Ethnic Minorities Care Teams and extend the EM District Ambassador pilot scheme for three years. ISS-HK’s Shamshuipo (South) Integrated Family Services Centre has been having an Ethnic Minority District Ambassador since 2020, and has organised programmes and simple interpretation/translation services to ethnic minority service users, which has proven to help ethnic minority residents integrate in Hong Kong society and enable social workers to better identify those in need.

On the establishment of Task Force on Tackling the Issue of Subdivided Units (SDUs), Mr Yau also commented “As we have been serving subdivided unit residents in the Shamshuipo District for many years, we look forward to the Task Force’s new insights, such as setting the minimum standards of living environment of SDUs and methods to eradicate substandard SDUs. We wish that the new policies will truly improve on the residents’ livelihood.”